Dioscorea alata

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Purple yam
Kambar wh.jpg
Sliced purple yam
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Dioscoreales
Family: Dioscoreaceae
Genus: Dioscorea
Species:
D. alata
Binomial name
Dioscorea alata
Synonyms [2]
List
    • Dioscorea atropurpureaRoxb.
    • Dioscorea colocasiifolia Pax
    • Dioscorea eburina Lour.
    • Dioscorea eburnea Lour.
    • Dioscorea globosa Roxb.
    • Dioscorea javanica Queva
    • Dioscorea purpurea Roxb.
    • Dioscorea rubella Roxb.
    • Dioscorea sapinii De Wild.
    • Dioscorea sativa Munro
    • Dioscorea vulgaris Miq.
    • Elephantodon eburnea(Lour.) Salisb.
    • Polynome alata(L.) Salisb.

Dioscorea alata –also called purple yam, ube ( /ˈuːbɛ,-beɪ/ ), or greater yam, among many other names –is a species of yam (a tuber). The tubers are usually a vivid violet-purple to bright lavender in color (hence the common name), but some range in color from cream to plain white. It is sometimes confused with taro and the Okinawa sweet potato beniimo (紅芋) (Ipomoea batatas cv. Ayamurasaki), however D. alata is also grown in Okinawa. With its origins in the Asian tropics, D. alata has been known to humans since ancient times. [3]

Names

Because it has become naturalized following its origins in Asia, specifically the Philippines, through tropical South America, and the southeastern U.S., D. alata is referred to by many different names in these regions. In English alone, aside from purple yam, other common names include ten-months yam, water yam, white yam, winged yam, violet yam, Guyana arrowroot, or simply yam. [3]

History of cultivation

Harvested purple yam tubers Ubejf1680.JPG
Harvested purple yam tubers

Dioscorea alata is one of the most important staple crops in Austronesian cultures. It is one of various species of yams that were domesticated and cultivated independently within Island Southeast Asia and New Guinea for their starchy tubers, including the round yam ( Dioscorea bulbifera ), ubi gadong ( Dioscorea hispida ), lesser yam ( Dioscorea esculenta ), Pacific yam (Dioscorea nummularia), fiveleaf yam ( Dioscorea pentaphylla ), and pencil yam ( Dioscorea transversa ). [4] Among these, D. alata and D. esculenta were the only ones regularly cultivated and eaten, while the rest were usually considered as famine food due to their higher levels of the toxin dioscorine which requires that they be prepared correctly before consumption. [5] D. alata is also cultivated more than D. esculenta, largely because of its much larger tubers. [6]

D. alata and D. esculenta were the most suitable for long transport in Austronesian ships and were carried through all or most of the range of the Austronesian expansion. D. alata in particular were introduced into the Pacific Islands and New Zealand. They were also carried by Austronesian voyagers into Madagascar and the Comoros. [7] [8] [9]

Aerial tuber of a white variety of D. alata Starr 061106-9589 Dioscorea alata.jpg
Aerial tuber of a white variety of D. alata

The center of origin of purple yam is in the Philippines, but archaeological evidence suggests that it was exploited in Island Southeast Asia and New Guinea before the Austronesian expansion. Purple yam is believed to be a true cultigen, only known from its cultivated forms. The vast majority of cultivars are sterile, which restricts its introduction into islands purely by human agency, making them a good indicator of human movement. Some authors have proposed, without evidence, an origin in Mainland Southeast Asia, but it shows the greatest phenotypic variability in the Philippines and New Guinea. [10] [11] [12]

Based on archaeological evidence of early farming plots and plant remains in the Kuk Swamp site, authors have suggested that it was first domesticated in the highlands of New Guinea from around 10,000 BP and spread into Island Southeast Asia via the Lapita culture at around c. 4,000 BP, along with D. nummularia and D. bulbifera. In turn, D. esculenta is believed to have been introduced by the Lapita culture into New Guinea. There is also evidence of an agricultural revolution during this period brought by innovations from contact with Austronesians, including the development of wet cultivation. [13] [14]

However, much older remains identified as being probably D. alata have also been recovered from the Niah Caves of Borneo (Late Pleistocene, <40,000 BP) and the Ille Cave of Palawan (c. 11,000 BP), along with remains of the toxic ubi gadong (D. hispida) which requires processing before it can be edible. Although it doesn't prove cultivation, it does show that humans already had the knowledge to exploit starchy plants and that D. alata were native to Island Southeast Asia. Furthermore, it opens the question on whether D. alata is a true species or cultivated much older than believed. [4] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19]

Purple yam remains an important crop in Southeast Asia, particularly in the Philippines where the vividly purple variety is widely used in various traditional and modern desserts. It also remains important in Melanesia, where it is also grown for ceremonial purposes tied to the size of the tubers at harvest time. Its importance in eastern Polynesia and New Zealand, however, has waned after the introduction of other crops, most notably the sweet potato. [6]

Uses

Culinary

Purple yams have edible tubers which have a mildly sweet, earthy and nutty taste, reminiscent of sweet potatoes or taro. The violet cultivars, in particular, turn dishes distinctively vivid violet because of the high amount of anthocyanins. [20] Purple yams are also valued for the starch that can be processed from them. [3] Purple yam is most common in Philippine cuisine (where it is known as ube or ubi). It is widely applied for many Philippine desserts, such as ube cake, ube cheesecake and ube crinkles, as well as an ingredient or flavor for ice cream, milk, donuts, tarts, jam and other types of pastries. It is often eaten boiled, baked, or as a sweetened dessert called ube halayá ; the latter being a popular ingredient in the iced dessert called halo-halo . [21] [22] [23] Purple yam desserts have more recently entered the United States through Philippine cuisine, under the Filipino name "ube". It is particularly popular due to the striking violet-purple color it gives to desserts. [20] [21] [24]

Purple yam is commonly confused with purple/violet varieties of sweet potatoes because of their similarities in color, taste, and culinary uses. However, like other yams, purple yam tends to have a moister texture than sweet potatoes. Purple yams also have higher anthocyanin content than sweet potatoes. They can otherwise be used interchangeably in most recipes. [25] [26]

Supplements, folk medicine and adverse effects

Although available as a dietary supplement and used in folk medicine, there is no clinical evidence that D. alata has any therapeutic properties. [27] Use of D. alata supplements may have adverse effects in people taking estrogens, anticoagulant drugs or during pregnancy and breast-feeding. [27] Some people may have allergic reactions to use of D. alata supplements. [27]

D. alata has relatively high levels of oxalates (486–781 mg/100 g dry matter), [28] which are associated with antinutritional effects and kidney stone formation. [29]

Other uses

The color of purple varieties is due to various anthocyanin pigments. [30] The pigments are water-soluble, and have been proposed as possible food coloring agents. [31] D. alata is sometimes grown in gardens for its ornamental value. [3]

As an invasive species

Dioscorea alata is native to the Philippines, as well as surrounding areas (Taiwan and the Ryukyu Islands of Japan). It has escaped from its native growth area and into the wild in many other places, becoming naturalized in parts of southern and east-central China, Africa and Madagascar, the Western Hemisphere, and various islands in the Indian and Pacific oceans. [32] [33] It persists in the wild in Haiti, as well as the United States, in Louisiana, Georgia, Alabama, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and in Florida where it is considered an invasive species. [34] [35]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sweet potato</span> Species of edible plant

The sweet potato is a dicotyledonous plant that belongs to the bindweed or morning glory family, Convolvulaceae. Its large, starchy, sweet-tasting tuberous roots are used as a root vegetable. The young shoots and leaves are sometimes eaten as greens. Cultivars of the sweet potato have been bred to bear tubers with flesh and skin of various colors. Sweet potato is only distantly related to the common potato, both being in the order Solanales. Although darker sweet potatoes are often referred to as "yams" in parts of North America, the species is even more distant from the true yams, which are monocots in the order Dioscoreales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Root vegetable</span> Plant root used as a vegetable

Root vegetables are underground plant parts eaten by humans as food. In agricultural and culinary terminology, the term applies to true roots such as taproots and tuberous roots as well as non-roots such as bulbs, corms, rhizomes, and stem tubers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taro</span> Species of plant

Taro is a root vegetable. It is the most widely cultivated species of several plants in the family Araceae that are used as vegetables for their corms, leaves, stems and petioles. Taro corms are a food staple in African, Oceanic, East Asian, Southeast Asian and South Asian cultures. Taro is believed to be one of the earliest cultivated plants.

<i>Halo-halo</i> Filipino dessert

Halo-halo, also spelled haluhalo, Tagalog for "mixed", is a popular cold dessert in the Philippines made up of crushed ice, evaporated milk or coconut milk, and various ingredients including side dishes such as ube jam, sweetened kidney beans or garbanzo beans, coconut strips, sago, gulaman (agar), pinipig, boiled taro or soft yams in cubes, flan, slices or portions of fruit preserves and other root crop preserves. The dessert is topped with a scoop of ube ice cream. It is usually prepared in a tall clear glass and served with a long spoon. Halo-halo is considered to be the unofficial national dessert of the Philippines.

UBE or Ube may refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yam (vegetable)</span> Edible starchy tuber

Yam is the common name for some plant species in the genus Dioscorea that form edible tubers.

<i>Dioscorea bulbifera</i> Species of flowering plant in the yam family Dioscoreaceae

Dioscorea bulbifera is a species of true yam in the yam family, Dioscoreaceae. It is native to Africa, Asia and northern Australia. It is widely cultivated and has become naturalized in many regions.

<i>Amorphophallus paeoniifolius</i> Staple root food in southeast Asia

Amorphophallus paeoniifolius, the elephant foot yam or whitespot giant arum, is a tropical plant native to Island Southeast Asia. It is cultivated for its edible tubers in Southeast Asia, South Asia, Madagascar, New Guinea, and the Pacific islands. Because of its production potential and popularity as a vegetable in various cuisines, it can be raised as a cash crop.

<i>Dioscorea esculenta</i> Species of yam

Dioscorea esculenta, commonly known as the lesser yam, is a yam species native to Island Southeast Asia and introduced to Near Oceania and East Africa by early Austronesian voyagers. It is grown for their edible tubers, though it has smaller tubers than the more widely-cultivated Dioscorea alata and is usually spiny.

<i>Tacca leontopetaloides</i> Species of flowering plant

Tacca leontopetaloides is a species of flowering plant in the yam family Dioscoreaceae. It is native to Island Southeast Asia but have been introduced as canoe plants throughout the Indo-Pacific tropics by Austronesian peoples during prehistoric times. They have become naturalized to tropical Africa, South Asia, northern Australia, and Oceania. Common names include Polynesian arrowroot, Fiji arrowroot, East Indies arrowroot, pia, and seashore bat lily.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yam production in Nigeria</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ube halaya</span> Philippine dessert made from purple yam

Ube halaya or halayang ube is a Philippine dessert made from boiled and mashed purple yam. Ube halaya is the main base in ube/purple yam flavored-pastries and ube ice cream. It can also be incorporated in other desserts such as halo-halo. It is also commonly anglicized as ube jam, or called by its original native name, nilupak na ube.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Macapuno</span> Coconut cultivar with little coconut water

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Domesticated plants and animals of Austronesia</span> Ancient expansion of agriculture

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nilupak</span> Class of traditional Filipino delicacies

Nilupak is a class of traditional Filipino delicacies made from mashed or pounded starchy foods mixed with coconut milk and sugar. They are molded into various shapes and traditionally served on banana leaves with toppings of grated young coconut (buko), various nuts, cheese, butter, or margarine. It is also known as nilusak, linusak, niyubak, linupak, or lubi-lubi, among many other names, in the various languages of the Philippines. It is also known as minukmok in Quezon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ube ice cream</span> Filipino ice cream made with purple yam

Ube ice cream is a Filipino ice cream flavor prepared using ube as the main ingredient. This ice cream is often used in making the dessert halo-halo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ube cheesecake</span> Filipino cheesecake colored purple with yams

Ube cheesecake, also known as purple yam cheesecake, is a Filipino cheesecake made with a base of crushed graham crackers and an upper layer of cream cheese and ube halaya. It can be prepared baked or simply refrigerated. Like other ube desserts in the Philippines, it is characteristically purple in color.

References

  1. ↑  Dioscorea alata was first described and published in Species Plantarum 2: 1033. 1753. "Name - Dioscorea alata L." Tropicos. Saint Louis, Missouri: Missouri Botanical Garden . Retrieved May 26, 2011.
  2. ↑ "The Plant List: A Working List of All Plant Species".
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Dioscorea alata". Germplasm Resources Information Network . Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture . Retrieved May 26, 2011.
  4. 1 2 Barker G, Hunt C, Barton H, et al. (August 2017). "The 'cultured rainforests' of Borneo" (PDF). Quaternary International. 448: 44–61. Bibcode:2017QuInt.448...44B. doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2016.08.018.
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  6. 1 2 "*Qufi ~ Uwhi, uhi". Te Mära Reo: The Language Garden. Benton Family Trust. Retrieved January 21, 2019.
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  13. ↑ Chaïr H, Traore RE, Duval MF, et al. (June 17, 2016). "Genetic Diversification and Dispersal of Taro (Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott)". PLOS ONE. 11 (6): e0157712. Bibcode:2016PLoSO..1157712C. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0157712 . PMC   4912093 . PMID   27314588.
  14. ↑ Bayliss-Smith T, Golson J, Hughes P (2017). "Phase 4: Major Disposal Channels, Slot-Like Ditches and Grid-Patterned Fields". In Golson J, Denham T, Hughes P, Swadling P, Muke J (eds.). Ten Thousand Years of Cultivation at Kuk Swamp in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea. terra australis. Vol. 46. ANU Press. pp. 239–268. ISBN   9781760461164.
  15. ↑ Barker G, Lloyd-Smith L, Barton H, et al. (2011). "Foraging-farming transitions at the Niah Caves, Sarawak, Borneo". Antiquity. 85 (328): 492–509. doi: 10.1017/S0003598X00067909 . S2CID   131187696.
  16. ↑ Balbaligo Y (November 15, 2007). "A Brief Note on the 2007 Excavation at Ille Cave, Palawan, the Philippines". Papers from the Institute of Archaeology. 18 (2007): 161. doi: 10.5334/pia.308 .
  17. ↑ Barton H (2005). "The Case for Rainforest Foragers: The Starch Record at Niah Cave, Sarawak" (PDF). Asian Perspectives. 44 (1): 56–72. doi:10.1353/asi.2005.0005. hdl: 10125/17222 . S2CID   11596542.
  18. ↑ Barton H, Denham T (2011). "Prehistoric vegeculture and social life in Island Southeast Asia and Melanesia" (PDF). In Barker G, Janowski M (eds.). Why cultivate? Anthropological and Archaeological Approaches to Foraging–Farming Transitions in Southeast Asia. McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research. pp. 61–74. ISBN   9781902937588. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 28, 2019. Retrieved January 21, 2019.
  19. ↑ Reynolds T, Barker G, Barton H, et al. (2013). "The First Modern Humans at Niah, c. 50,000–35,000 Years Ago" (PDF). In Barker G (ed.). Rainforest Foraging and Farming in Island Southeast Asia. McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research. pp. 133–170. ISBN   9781902937540.
  20. 1 2 Sutherlin M. "Everything You Need to Know About Ube, The Purple Yam". Chowhound. Retrieved May 18, 2019.
  21. 1 2 Kearns L. "Ube Is The Natural Ingredient That Turns Food Perfectly Purple". The Huffington Post. Retrieved May 18, 2019.
  22. ↑ Bueno A. "All hail ube, the culinary gem we took for granted". CNN Philippines. Archived from the original on November 1, 2019. Retrieved May 18, 2019.
  23. ↑ Valdeavilla R (June 6, 2018). "Ube: The Philippine Purple Yam (More Popular Than Vanilla!)". culture trip. Retrieved May 18, 2019.
  24. ↑ "Donut Shop in Gurnee Cranks Out Unique Freshly Made Donuts". ABC7 Chicago. November 11, 2016.
  25. ↑ "Ube or Not Ube, That Is the Question…and Frieda's Is Answering". Frieda's. April 17, 2017. Retrieved May 18, 2019.
  26. ↑ "Ingredient Spotlight: Ube, the Purple Yams That Make Dessert". OneGreenPlanet. March 24, 2017. Retrieved May 18, 2019.
  27. 1 2 3 "Wild yam". Drugs.com. July 24, 2020. Retrieved March 15, 2021.
  28. ↑ Wanasundera JP, Ravindran G (1994). "Nutritional assessment of yam (Dioscorea alata) tubers". Plant Foods Hum Nutr. 46 (1): 33–9. doi:10.1007/BF01088459. PMID   7971785. S2CID   36080604.
  29. ↑ Otegbayo BO, Oguniyan DJ, Olunlade BA, et al. (November 1, 2017). "Characterizing genotypic variation in biochemical composition, anti-nutritional and mineral bioavailability of some Nigerian yam (Dioscorea spp.) land races". Journal of Food Science and Technology. 55 (1): 205–216. doi:10.1007/s13197-017-2913-0. ISSN   0022-1155. PMC   5756202 . PMID   29358812.
  30. ↑ Moriya C, Hosoya T, Agawa S, et al. (2015). "New acylated anthocyanins from purple yam and their antioxidant activity". Biosci Biotechnol Biochem. 79 (9): 1484–92. doi: 10.1080/09168451.2015.1027652 . PMID   25848974. S2CID   11221328.
  31. ↑ Li J, Zhang L, Liu Y (2013). "Optimization of Extraction of Natural Pigment from Purple Sweet Potato by Response Surface Methodology and Its Stability". Journal of Chemistry. 2013: 1–5. doi: 10.1155/2013/590512 .
  32. ↑ Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  33. ↑ Flora of China, Vol. 24 Page 296, shen shu, Dioscorea alata Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 2: 1033. 1753.
  34. ↑ "Profile for Dioscorea alata (water yam)". PLANTS Database. USDA, NRCS . Retrieved May 26, 2011.
  35. ↑ Biota of North America Program, 2013 county distribution map
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